Present business practices worldwide are moving toward various companies forming alliances. For example, credit card companies often offer products or services of other companies as incentives to use the credit cards. For example, airline frequent flyer miles may be offered, or reduced rates or free long distance telephone service on particular long distance carriers. Under these circumstances, it would be highly desirable to be able to produce a single document for a particular end user (customer) which had account or billing information from more than one different company.
There are also many other circumstances, even where a direct alliances between companies are not utilized, where it would be highly efficient and desirable to be able to provide a single end user (customer) with information about more than one different account in the same document. This would save paper and mailing costs for the companies involved. A number of different companies could put out a "common" mailing in which for any common end users the necessary account and/or billing information would be printed on the same document.
According to the present invention, the desired goals set forth above can be accomplished in a realistic and cost effective manner utilizing a computer control system, such as the Moore Business Forms, Inc. (of Lake Forest, Ill.) XL Data System, and electronic information provided from a number of different companies can be successfully manipulated and merged during printing using known flexographic printing equipment, or electronic imaging equipment, to produce a single document page with multiple different variable indicia thereon from two or more discrete sources therein. The equipment that is utilized to practice the invention may be the equipment such as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 08/359,697, filed Dec. 20, 1994 (also shown in PCT Publication WO 96/19352, published Jun. 27, 1996), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a method of producing a single document page with multiple different variable indicia thereon, from at least two discrete sources, using a computer control and an imaging system is provided. The method comprises the steps of: (a) Feeding variable database streams and variable data streams from at least two discrete sources to the same computer control. (b) Using the same computer control, controlling the imaging system to merge the variable database streams and variable data streams from the at least two discrete sources so that they may be imaged on the same document page. (c) Feeding paper to be imaged to the imaging system. And (d) using the imaging system, imaging the same document page with variable data indicia and variable database indicia from the at least two discrete sources.
Three discrete sources may be provided, each having unique variable database streams, and unique variable data stream, in which case steps (a) through (d) are practiced to image on the same document page three or more different variable data indicia, and variable database indicia. Each discrete source may also have a distinct form structure in which case step (a) is practiced to feed the distinct form structures from the discrete sources to the computer control, and step (b) is practiced to merge the distinct form structures from the discrete sources in the imaging system, and step (d) is practiced to image the variable data indicia and the variable base indicia on the same document page in their respective distinct form structures from the discrete sources.
While the variable indicia provided may encompass a wide variety of different forms, preferably the variable data base streams include company name and logo data (and also perhaps coupon information and/or direct marketing messages, and images), while the variable data streams include alphanumeric characters which convey at least one of account and billing information (such as a bank credit card statement and associated frequent flyer miles for a particular airline that have been earned by using the credit card).
Steps (a) through (d) may be practiced to image on the same face of a sheet--having a maximum length of about twelve inches and a maximum width of about nine inches (e.g. standard letter size or A4 paper)--all of the desired data. Step (c) may be practiced to feed the paper in web form to the imaging system, in which case there is the further step (e), after step (d), of cutting the web into individual single pages. The imaging system may be a flexographic imaging system (such as in co-pending application Ser. No. 08/359,697), in which case step (d) is practiced to image indicia on the single document pages flexographically, or non-variable data may be imaged flexographically and variable data with an ion deposition or ink jet printer, or the like.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a single document page with multiple different variable indicia thereon, from at least two discrete sources, produced using a computer control in an imaging system, is provided. The document page is produced by the steps of: (a) Feeding variable database streams and variable data streams from at least two discrete sources to the same computer control. (b) Using the same computer control, controlling an imaging system to merge the variable database streams and variable data streams from the at least two discrete sources so that they may be imaged on the same document page. (c) Feeding paper to be imaged to the imaging system. And (d) using the imaging system, imaging the same document page with variable data indicia and variable database indicia from the at least two discrete sources.
The document pages set forth above may be further produced by a method wherein (c) is practiced to feed the paper in web form to the imaging system; and by the further step (e), after step (d), of cutting the web into individual single pages including the document page. The document page may include variable data indicia and variable data base indicia from three or more different sources, each in discrete form structure on the page. The variable data base streams may include company name and logo data, direct marketing messages, and/or images and the variable data streams may include alphanumeric characters which convey at least one of account and billing information, e.g. so that the document page includes three different company names and logos and three different account and/or billing information character sets (e.g. on the same face).
According to another aspect of the present invention a single document page having a first face for delivery to a predetermined individual is provided comprising the following elements: First and second distinct form structures. First and second distinct variable database indicia for the predetermined individual. First and second distinct variable data indicia for the predetermined individual. The first variable database indicia and first variable data indicia imaged in the first form structure on the single document page first face. And the second variable database indicia and second variable data indicia imaged in the second form structure on the single document page first face.
The page as set forth above may be in combination with, and contained within, an envelope with address indicia thereon identifying the predetermined individual. The variable data base indicia may comprise company name and logo indicia, direct marketing messages, and/or images, while the variable data indicia comprises alphanumeric characters which convey at least one of account and billing information. Three, or even more, distinct form structures, variable database indicia, and variable data indicia, may be provided.
It is a primary object of the present invention to efficiently produce and present variable data from at least two discrete sources on the same document page. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from a detailed description of the invention and from the appended claims.